Reductions in air pollution yielded fast and dramatic impacts on health-outcomes, as well as decreases in all-cause morbidity, according to new findings.

Using a clever technique that causes unruly crystals of iron selenide to snap into alignment, physicists have drawn a road map that reveals the quantum ''rules of the road'' that electrons must follow in the enigmatic superconductor.

Women who have C-sections are no more likely to have children who develop obesity than women who give birth naturally, according to a large study. The findings contradict several smaller studies that did find an association between C-section deliveries and offspring obesity but did not consider the numerous maternal and prenatal factors that the researchers did in this study.

Johns Hopkins engineers have created a new lens-free ultra-miniaturized endoscope, the size of a few human hairs in width, that is less bulky and can produce higher quality images.

Scientists report they have created a tiny, nanosize container that can slip inside cells and deliver protein-based medicines and gene therapies of any size -- even hefty ones attached to the gene-editing tool called CRISPR.

Gel-like materials have a wide range of applications, especially in chemistry and medicine. However, their usefulness is sometimes limited by their inherent random and disordered nature. Researchers have found a way to produce a new kind of gel which overcomes this limitation. It is still malleable and adaptable like existing gels, but it has a more ordered structure, which can open up a new range...

A physicist has performed calculations showing hollow spherical bubbles filled with a gas of positronium atoms are stable in liquid helium. The calculations take scientists a step closer to realizing a gamma-ray laser.

By monitoring crops through machine learning and satellite data, scientists have found farms that till the soil less can increase yields of corn and soybeans and improve the health of the soil -- a win-win for meeting growing food needs worldwide.

Physicists have designed an experiment to explain the concept of magnetic resonance. A versatile technique employed in chemistry, physics, and materials research, magnetic resonance describes a resonant excitation of electron or atomic nuclei spins residing in a magnetic field by means of electromagnetic waves.

Chocolate-producing cacao trees that are resistant to a major pathogen were identified by an international team of plant geneticists. The findings point the way for plant breeders to develop trees that are tolerant of the disease.

A common first-line treatment approach for cryptococcal meningitis in low-income countries is being compromised by the emergence of drug resistance, new research warns. The findings highlight the need to develop new drugs and treatment regimens for the lethal brain infection, which kills around 180,000 people each year.

Biologists are making strides in understanding biological clock function in several model organisms and translating these studies into broader implications for human health.

Researchers developed a living material approach that uses a strain of genetically engineered E.coli Nissle bacteria as a locally acting probiotic. The engineered bacteria produce a network of nanofibers that directly binds to mucus to fill inflamed areas like a patch, shielding them from gut microbes and environmental factors. This probiotic-based therapeutic strategy protected mice against the...

Researchers have developed the 'FrogPhone', a novel device which allows scientists to call up a frog survey site and monitor them in the wild. The FrogPhone is the world's first solar-powered remote survey device that relays environmental data to the observer via text messages, whilst conducting real-time remote acoustic surveys over the phone.

A crab's nervous system could help scientists learn what causes single neurons in the human brain to become 'out of whack,' which can contribute to the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Knowing exactly how a single neuron operates among the billions housed in the human brain could one day help scientists design innovative ways to prevent and treat these diseases, such...

A new study reveals a significant reduction in NICU (up to 55%) and preterm births due to incentive-based programs implemented to help low-income pregnant women stop smoking cigarettes. Colorado saved over 4 million dollars in healthcare costs by providing these programs and has an opportunity to save 16 million. The issue is critical because smoking in the third trimester of pregnancy is three to...

An important tool for monitoring seabird populations involves acoustic sensors deployed at nesting sites to record sounds over long periods of time. But analysis of the recordings to identify and count the calls of different species can be time-consuming, even with computers and artificial intelligence. An alternative approach is to evaluate all of the sounds in an environment as a 'soundscape',...

Crops today never see their parents' microbiome, so how do they develop a leaf microbial community that's healthy and resistant to invasion by pathogens? Biologists sequenced the microbiomes of tomatoes through four generations and saw three-quarters of the bacteria disappear, leaving a core community that proved resistant to random invaders. The findings show it's possible to cultivate a robust...

Researchers lift the veil on the 'conductor' plant root stem cell gene that helps orchestrate and coordinate stem cell division of different root stem cell types, ensuring the harmonic communication necessary for plant growth and maintenance.

A person's risk of developing cancer is affected by genetic variations in regions of DNA that don't code for proteins, previously dismissed as 'junk DNA', according to new research. This new study shows that inherited cancer risk is not only affected by mutations in key cancer genes - known as oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes - but that variations in the DNA that controls the expression of...

A simple health questionnaire could be a highly effective tool to pre-screen people for early signs of esophageal cancer, enabling much earlier diagnosis and treatment, finds a new study.

Approximately half of the patients were randomly assigned whole breast radiation, delivered once per day over 3 to 5 weeks. The other half received external beam APBI which was given twice a day over 5 to 8 days. The study was long-term, with a median followup of 8.6 years.

Researchers have developed a more accurate method of measuring bispehnol A (BPA) levels in humans and found that exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical is far higher than previously assumed. The study provides the first evidence that the measurements relied upon by regulatory agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration, are flawed, underestimating exposure levels by as much as...